Born in St-Lambert, Que., he became interested in art while at high school and later attended the Montreal Museum of Fine Art School and studied under Goodridge Roberts, Jacques de Tonnancour, and Gordon Webber [1948-49]. He also studied at the Ontario College of Art under Jock MacDonald, Eric Freifeld, Harley Parker and Frederick Hagan [1949-53]. He won an IODE prize and a T. Eaton travel scholarship in 1953 and took a trip to France and Spain [1954-55]. In France he studied the work of Pierre Bonnard and Alberto Giacometti (their work was to be very influential). He worked for Graphica Associates, Toronto [1955] and then at the graphics department of the CBC. His painting “Night Interior” was included in the Second Biennial Exhibition of Canadian Art [1957]. He taught part-time at the OCA for two years [1958-60]. In 1959 Coughtry finally left the CBC and began to work on mural commissions. His work received critical praise from writers Robert Fulford and Elizabeth Kilbourn. In 1962 he made a large mu